The Ultimate Free Toolkit for Engaging Online Lessons

Over the last few years, the shift towards online teaching has evolved from a mere trend into a fundamental necessity within education technology. Whether you are an experienced educator or a novice in the realm of virtual teaching, the ongoing search for free, high-quality teaching resources is a constant effort. In this blog, we will share the 5 best free resources for online teaching that can significantly enhance your digital classroom. Whether you're seeking engaging activities or customizable lesson plans, this curated list of free online teaching resources is for you!

1. Twinkl: Comprehensive Teaching Resources for Every Lesson

Link: Twinkl

Twinkl offers an expansive wealth of educational resources designed for teachers, parents, and home schoolers globally. While it does feature a premium subscription, Twinkl also provides a substantial amount of free resources that are invaluable. From detailed lesson plans and printable worksheets to dynamic interactive activities and fun educational games, Twinkl covers an impressive range of subjects and grade levels. The platform is renowned for its high-quality, teacher-created materials that seamlessly align with various curricula. Whether you need materials for in-class instruction, homework assignments, or remote learning, Twinkl boasts a vast library to support all your teaching endeavours.

2. PBS Learning Media: Trustworthy & Standards-Aligned Content

Link: PBS Learning Media

Similar to Twinkl, PBS Learning Media provides a wide array of high-quality, standards-aligned educational content. Developed by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), this robust platform offers a diverse collection of engaging videos, comprehensive lesson plans, enriching interactive activities, and much more. The resources span a broad spectrum of subjects (including science, social studies, English language arts, and Mathematics) and grade levels (PreK-Grade 12), making it an incredibly versatile tool for teachers across various disciplines. The platform also provides intuitive tools for lesson planning and customization, allowing you to perfectly tailor content to your specific curriculum and student needs.

3. Slidesgo: Creative Presentation Templates for Visual Impact

Link: Slidesgo

Slidesgo is a fantastic resource if you are looking to create visually engaging and professionally designed presentations for your online classes. This platform offers a wide range of free PowerPoint and Google Slides templates that cover various subjects and stylistic needs. Whether you're teaching mathematics, science, literature, or any other subject, Slidesgo provides templates that can cater to your specific teaching needs. The templates are fully customizable, allowing you to easily add your content and adapt the presentations to your unique teaching style, ensuring your digital classroom stands out.

4. Wordwall: Interactive Learning Games to Boost Engagement

Link: Wordwall

Wordwall provides a variety of highly engaging learning activities and games that you can use to effectively engage students in class. The platform offers a diverse range of customizable templates for activities such as quizzes, word games, matching exercises, and much more. These interactive activities can be seamlessly integrated into in-classroom instruction, virtual classrooms, or used as part of homework assignments. You can design interactive content specifically tailored to your curriculum and student needs, making Wordwall an excellent example of gamification ideas for virtual classes.

5. Funclass: A Gamified Virtual Classroom for Max Engagement

Link: Funclass

Are you still using Zoom to teach your online classes and struggling to engage your students due to a noticeable lack of interactive tools? Funclass is the leading online teaching platform that provides you with all the handy interactive tools you need, including dynamic leaderboards and XP rewards to maximize your student engagement.(Dive deeper into how to build student intrinsic motivation for lasting engagement!) With the XP rewards earned in class, students are able to level up their pets and customize them in the Pet Shop. Funclass truly offers ways to make Zoom classes fun and is arguably the best Zoom app for teachers, see for yourself!